Determination - A CYOA

I know where this is going.

Say hello to our new Grandpa!

Follow the guy, repeatedly asking for Honey Nut Cheerios.

Not just our Grandpa. But also our Uncle!

NO WE'RE NOT CALLING HIM UNCLE GRANDPA

We shall call him Grunkle, and make several 'BUT HER AIM IS GETTING BETTER' joajes.

"How troubling... Perhaps you can come with me. I be able to help you find your way."

You tell the goat that you'd be happy to follow him, and with a short hum of satisfaction from him you two set off. He doesn't hold your hand, and he doesn't walk in front like you might expect. Instead he walks besides you, treating you like a equal. You happily hum a song while you're walking, and he joins you.

You soon come to a small room with a closed door on the other end. Raised plates sit on the floor in a odd formation, shaped a bit like a square with a offset line inside.

"Now child, thes--"
You don't let him finish, running forwards to read the sign on the wall next to the pads.
*Only the fearless may proceed.
*Brave ones, foolish ones.
*Both walk not the middle road.
That seems simple enough. You walk around the outside of the plates and avoid the two in the middle, smiling when you hear the door unlock.

"..."
Your goat friend gives you a small, proud smile, walking over to you and placing a hand on your shoulder.

"You're quite clever for a child. As I was about to say, these Ruins are full of puzzles like this. The creators built them as a combination of diversions and doorkeys, and the mechanisms still work after all these centuries. I'll look forward to seeing how many of the coming puzzles you can solve."

He steps forwards and opens the large door, gesturing for you to go first down the following hallway.
"After you."

As you walk down the long hallway decorated with water streams and wooden bridges, your friend's arms folded behind his back, you think on your situation. You don't remember where you came from, or much else besides your name, but this isn't all bad. These Ruins really are beautiful, with the flowers and streams, and you've already made a friend. As you glance up at your guide, he catches your eye and smiles down at you.

You're filled with a urge to ask him for Honey-Nut Cheerios.

Putting that thought aside, you decide instead to ask him where you're going.
"I have a home I've set up near the entrance to the Ruins. I use it sometimes, when I'm down here for a long period of time. Speaking of which, I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I am Narien, caretaker of these Ruins. I come here every so often to tend to the flowers and maintain this place's magic."

You tell him Narien is a nice name.
"Thank you, I've always thought so myself. And what would your name be?"
You say your name is Timothy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Timothy."

You say it's a pleasure to meet him too, but as you keep walking, something occurs to you. You look up at Narien again, silently asking permission to give him a question.
"...Yes? What is it, Timothy?"
You ask if you can call Narien your grandpa. He stops, giving you a amused and slightly annoyed look.
"Do I really look old enough to be a grandfather? ...Nevermind that. If you must consider me anything, consider me an uncle."
You think for a moment, before coming up with a idea. Grinning widely, you tell Narien he's now your Grunkle.
"...A what?"
You take a moment to explain the intricacies of being both a uncle and a grandfather at the same time. He thinks for a moment before sighing, though he has to try hard to conceal a smile.
"Very well. If it makes you happy, you may call me your grunkle."

You smile at your victory, happy to simply walk along the corridor with your Grunkle Narien. Soon enough however, you come to another puzzle that I'm too lazy to sprite right now. The path through is blocked by spikes, and on the walls to either side of the room are eight switches as well as a sign. Glancing up at Narien, he motions for you to solve the puzzle on your own.

Walking up to the puzzle, you read the sign.
*Those in their prime often find that new doors open for them.

...see if the spikes don't lower on their own first when you walk up to them.
That failing, flick switches 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7.

We're still in the tutorial section Xano, I say it's worth the attempt.

Either that or (Octoge)Narien want us to open a door he can't because it recquires somebody in the prime of their life.

You decide to start by seeing if the spikes retract if you try walking into them. They don't, and Narien pulls you back before you can injure yourself on them.
"Perhaps you should try the switches."

Slightly embarrassed, you nod and experimentally flip a couple switches. They don't seem to do very much.
Thinking back to the clue on the sign, you decide to try the prime numbers. Going from the left to the right, you flip the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh switches, and the spikes retract with a audible click. Narien nods, satisfied with your puzzle solving skills, motioning for you to lead the way through. You do so, coming out into a squarer room with a training dummy off to one side and a unblocked door to the left.

Narien comes out behind you, stepping across to the center of the room.
"Now, I think it may be time to test your skills in a Fight. I will not be fighting you myself, but I know someone who may be able to help us, if she's here. Please, excuse me for a minute."

He walks off, leaving you alone in the room. You decide to take the moment to examine the training dummy further. It's a fairly normal human-shaped dummy, about your size, held up by a stand with a wide base. As you look into the sewn-in glass eyes, they glow with a purple light, and a small heart-shaped light appears in front of you. You step away hurriedly, the light following in front of you, and you hear a nervous voice fill the room as the dummy floats an inch off the floor, nervously moving into a fighting stance.

"S...So I guess I'm supposed to fight you now... Um... You... You go ahead and start..."

Do we just do whatever or do we have a list of commands?

If the former, encourage the creature so it's more self-confident.

If the latter, glare angrily at Dimitri until he gives us an action list.

We need to recruit the Dummy into our party guys, taking it all the way to the end of the adventure.

The ghost can come too I guess if they want to, but the puppet must join us.

Hmm...

Teach the dummy how to crochet. Hey, if I have to write these actions in my own CYOA...

You tell the dummy you're not sure if they're the one you're supposed to fight. The dummy takes a step back, somehow managing to perfectly emote nervousness despite not having a face, elbows, or knees.
"N-No, I was told I was supposed to fight you... Uh... You do know how to fight, right...?"
You say you don't.
"O...Oh... I guess I'll have to teach you then..."

The dummy starts 'pacing' in front of you, trying to find the best way to try and explain.
"So... Um... That heart in front of you? That's your Soul.. It's um... It's what makes you... You. I... Called it out for you... When... When it's out like this, if your body would take damage, your Soul is hurt instead..."

You say that that sounds like it would be a bad thing.
"It, um... It can be... But you won't usually have your Soul called on in a fight, and... It actually makes it safer... Because your Soul can be healed easier... S-So, um... I called your Soul, and... I'm using this dummy because I'm normally incorporeal..."

So you're actually talking to a ghost possessing a dummy. This must be the "she" Narien was talking about. You're immediately filled with a urge to add the dummy to your party. And you guess the ghost can come too.
Shaking that off, you ask how she's going to be testing you.
"Uh... Well, I'm supposed to test your strength, so... Uh... I guess we just... Attack each other..."

You say you'd rather teach the ghost to crochet.
"...Huh...? Crocheting...? N..No, we're supposed to be fighting..."

Deciding to relent, you check to make sure Paula's still secure in your hair before telling the ghost you're ready, and she can go first.
"A...Alright... If you're sure... Try and dodge this..."

The dummy moves once again into a fighting position and several purple orbs appear around it, made of a substance that looks like both a thick liquid and a gas at the same time. Once you're in position, the ghost starts nervously directing them in flying at you, almost using some sort of dance.

Dice Results:
Gatlin: 0, +1 Bonus
Posessed Dummy: 0

You barely manage to dodge the orbs, getting the feeling that the only reason you did was because the ghost didn't actually want to hit you. Figuring it's your turn to do something now, a man wearing a t-shirt with saturn in a cardboard box printed on it appears you decide to try something other than attacking. Flirting perhaps? Taking on a teasing stance, you tell the ghost that she's cute when she directs her attacks like that.

"W...What? I... I'm not that cute..."
They freeze up, not attacking you again. You get the feeling that she'd be blushing if not for the dummy.

Taking the fact that they're not doing anything as a sign that you're free to keep going, you assure her that she really is that cute, and that she should believe it.
"W...Well... Um... Let's keep going..."

Dice Results:
Gatlin: -1, +1 Bonus
Posessed Dummy: 0

More orbs are sent at you, and the ghost seems to be a bit more confident this time. Unfortunately, you don't do quite as good of a job at dodging the attacks this time and you get hit in the arm. You expect the sting of pain, but instead of the arm that was hit being hurt, you feel a sharp sting in your chest instead, and grab it in pain. Noticing the light in front of you flash dimmer for a moment, you remember what the ghost said about your Soul. You make a mental note to be more careful.

"A...Are you okay..? I didn't hurt you too much, did I...?"
You assure the ghost that you're fine, and you make a comment about this being like Touhou.
"Whats... Touhou..?"
You tell them not to worry about it.
"...O..Okay..."


Gatlin: 16/20 HP
Posessed Dummy: ??/?? HP